How Our Career Testing Works

Why Career Testing

We developed our proprietary Career Test to help people figure out which careers would be a good fit and which they should avoid.

We saw many people who were not very satisfied with their careers. In many cases they were doing the wrong type of work.

We also saw many students changing majors and graduating from college with no clue as to what work they wanted to do.

It was clear that people needed a good, objective tool to help them decide on a career path.

It was also clear that in today's fast paced, constantly change internet connected world, people would have to adjust their career course more often than say 50 years ago.

That is why we created this Career Finder Tool.

The Career Test Technology

The underlying technology we use was developed over 40 years ago by Dr. John Holland.

We upgraded, modernized and extended the basic ideas and then applied it to the internet where it could reach more people.

The technology used for scoring and interpreting the test is proprietary and is 100% owned by CareerPlanner.com. You won't find this technology anywhere else.

We have been providing Career Testing for over 10 years now. We were one of the first to bring this type of service to the web. Now there are many companies offering web based Career Tests.

We think we are quite good at spotting major trends early, creating innovative products and services and bringing them to the market before everyone else. In fact, that is what our Career Test says about us.

Interest Based Career Test

Our Career Test will determine what your true interests are. The test extracts this information from you (it's not painful) and then presents it in a very simple but compelling manner.

The test will take about 18 minutes to complete for those people whose first language is English and who have grown up in English speaking, modern countries. The test will take a bit longer for those whom English is their second language. Our customers in places like Taiwan and China report taking about 10 to 20 minutes longer because they look up several words in a dictionary.

There are 180 true/false questions that will probe your level of interest and to some extent your skill levels.

Don't worry, there are no math problems to solve.

This is not an aptitude test that shows how well you do in math, writing , reading etc. However it will infer your aptitude and skill level indirectly by understanding your confidence level in performing certain activities.

This is not a personality test like the Myers Briggs, however, it will indirectly take into account some aspects of your personality. For example if you are very shy and introverted you will not be directed towards a career in sales where you have to enjoy meeting new people all of the time.

Thus the CareerPlanner Career Test is primarily an interest inventory assessment tool that also takes into account some aspects of your skills and personality.

Who Takes Our Career Test?

The test is useful to people from age 13 to 60+, including students and mid-life career changers.

Our career test has international appeal as well. We have many satisfied customers from countries such as Canada, Great Britain, China, Taiwan, Pakistan, Spain, Saudi Arabia, and India.

The test report will give you insights into the fundamental nature of the careers that are good for you. You can use this knowledge to make career decisions for the rest of your life.

You can take this test every five years or so, as your interests and career changes.

No Forced Answers

Many career tests use questions that force you to choose between two activities. This distorts your results.

For example, the question might ask if you prefer singing to writing poetry. What if you don't like either one? In many other career tests, you will be forced to pick one and this can lead to inaccurate test results.

CareerPlanner.com does not use forced choice testing. We also allow you to skip questions if you do not feel strongly about the responses. In this way our Career Test provides more accurate results than other types of tests.

Online Testing versus Test Booklet

Many people ask us if they can take the test on paper. Sorry. The test is on-line.

There is a very good reason for this. Test booklets and paper based testing are notorious for human error when it comes to scoring and interpretation.

Picture what would happen if you added up the scores wrong and introduced an error which then changed the direction of your career path. Our scoring is 100% accurate.

Your Career Test Report

Your test report will be approximately 15 to 18 pages long. It is in a PDF document which can be read with the free Adobe Acrobat Reader software.

Your test report will explain why certain careers are a good match and why others should be avoided. This will help you analyze any career. You can use this knowledge for the rest of your life.

Delivery of Your Test Report

Your test report can be ready within one hour of completing the test, or within two days, or within five days depending on which delivery option you select. The one hour report has a small expedite fee. The five day delivery version is the lowest cost, budget version.

Your test report will be posted on our web site in a secure location. You can reach it in two ways. When you take the test we will give you a link to your test report. You can also sign-in later, with your email address and password, to retrieve your report.

You can read the report on line, or download it to your computer. You can print it out.

Frequently Updated To Reflect New Careers

Unlike many career test reports, ours is frequently updated to show you new careers that did not exist a few years ago, including: Java Programmer, Web Master, Marketing Communications Specialist, Software Alliance Manager, Network Specialist and more.

Guaranteed Results - Full Refund if You Don't Get the Results you Expect

We have always offered a full, no questions asked refund if you don't get the results you need. Simply send us an email and we will refund the entire amount of your career test. (Only for credit card orders. Does not apply to pay by check orders)

Groups, Classrooms, Corporations

We have made our Career Testing technology available to groups, classrooms and corporations.

We offer a special Test Administrator User Interface to help you manage the test taking for large groups.

Further Career Advice After You Take the Test

If you have questions or concerns or you want to brainstorm ideas for your new career, you can email us and we will respond, for no additional charge. This applies to individuals only and does not apply to groups, classrooms, and corporations.

We are not an impersonal test processing house. We are not a giant corporation. We are here to share our insights about the future and to help you create a better future for yourself.